Doubt Your Doubts Before Your Faith!!

Hey yall!

I apologize, I mentioned in my last email that I would email tomorrow but I actually had my weeks mixed up. I will be emailing NEXT Tuesday!

I hope y'all enjoyed your week :)

This week God blessed Sister Stacey and I to recognize the importance of fellowship! The Beaufort Ward is incredible, the members are so quick to lend a hand and express their love :) Fellowship is so important because everything is better with good company! Cori is 10 and we were praying for a family to fellowship her and her family. We realized there is a family who lives literally a street right behind them who are awesome! Seriously y'all they read in Preach My Gospel every night as a family! We asked their mom to teach her with us 2 weeks ago. After we arrived we introduced her, but we found out she took it upon herself to walk over several days before our appointment to meet them. I love when people go out of their way to give more than what was asked!

We had plans to see Cori on Saturday at their home, but the mom realized she had a scounting event until 8 Pm that night! So we asked several other members if they could join us and for one reason or another, every single person was busy! We figured that if God needed us to be there, He would provide a way! After discovering just about everyone was unnavailible we decided to go see her alone and try again the next time. 

So Cori lives on a military base here with tight knit security. After several weeks of consistently going there, most of the gaurds recognize us and let us go past. Worst casenario, Cori's mom is always willing to sponsor us on if we have any trouble.. but she went out of town earlier that day for about a week. Sister Stacey and I assumed (assumption was our first mistake) tonight would probably be no different, so when we got there we quickly discovered a gaurd we had not yet met. Aaaaand the road blocks continued on. Y'all sometimes things are beyond our control and we just have to hope for the best. And the best we hoped for! But our hope only led us to the side of the entrance gate to wait. Well there is no greater power than God, so we turned to Him for further guidance.
After turning our will over to His (because I was willing & ready to try to convince this man to let us on) oddly, I felt very peaceful about what was about to happen. I still am not sure why, but the reassurance I felt trumpted the stress I was feeling. I trust that was God because shortly after that the man walked over and said he couldnt let us on :( We told him we understand and drove back. I wanted to feel frustrated, but the peace I felt lingered in my heart. We were concerned about Cori waiting for us, so we texted the mom who lives behind her and asked if she could walk over and invite Cori to church with them. All we know is the next day Cori had a huge smile on her face as she walked into Sacrament with their family.

I love principles and reason as much as the next logical individual, but I believe if we were created to understand everything immediately we would be deprived the blessing of learning. Learning how to trust people is difficult, but learning how to trust people with God is much easier.

Ether 12:6

"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith"

Via con Dios (Go with God)
Sister Morrill

Y'all, He lives!

Happy Monday!!! 

Our preparation day has been moved back to Monday. Next week should be my last week of emailing on Tuesday!

I hope y'all enjoyed your weekend! The weather here is beginning to feel like fall :) Breezy & cool, just how I like it! 

As you may know, President Nelson invited women everywhere to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year in Women's conference. When he first invited us I honestly excused myself from the deadline because as a missionary, I have even less time than an individual who is permitted to study at their own leisure. I have since repented from my poor justification haha, especially considering he promised that God will help those who accept the invitation. As with every invitation from God or his servants, he extended a promised blessing which admittedly is what softened my heart and persudaded me.

President Russel M Nelson:
"I invite you to read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year. As impossible as that may seem with all you are trying to manage in your life, if you will accept this invitation with full purpose of heart, the Lord will help you find a way to achieve it. And, as you prayerfully study, I promise that the heavens will open for you. The Lord will bless you with increased inspiration and revelation."

There is no greater promise to me than direct & personal guidance from our heavenly Father, who knows what we need! My testimony has since strengthened, I know that God lives and speaks to us through a modern day prophet who leads and guides Jesus Christ's true church. This gospel is the way for lasting healing in both soul and body! Ours is the privilege of learning to let Him heal us.

We taught Cori about the Restoration on Saturday and I felt like we were teaching the lesson rather than her. As we were about to share the First Vision, their doorbell rang and it was Juliet! My first thought was how the adversary always seeks to interrupt, but when both Cori & her mom got up I took it as a tender mercy from God. I turned to Sister Stacey & asked her if she felt like we were really teaching to Cori's needs, she didn't feel we were & asked what we should do different. I was not sure haha, but God has a fine reputation of guiding us. All I could think to respond was, "follow the Spirit" and when Cori sat back down I thought about the purpose of our message. We want her to feel the blessing of a modern day prophet. I remembered the invitation President Nelson extended to us from Saturday night and felt we should share it with her. I noticed her eyes really focus as we shared his additional invitation.

"As you read, I would encourage you to mark each verse that speaks of or refers to the Savior. Then, be intentional about talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ, and preaching of Christ with your families and friends. You and they will be drawn closer to the Savior through this process. And changes, even miracles, will begin to happen." 

We boar testimony and shared how important family is to us! We testified of God's capability to do anything & as we excercise faith in Him, He will keep His promise to us. I don't know what miracles God has awaiting, but I do know I love my family with my whole heart & He will bless them through my commitment to Him. She seemed to sit a little taller in her chair and said, "I am going to do that too!". She caught us off gaurd! Haha, this is a girl with pure desire & heart. I noticed her mom teared up, I felt the Spirit testify to me the power of love in a home. She ran upstairs and grabbed a clean copy of the Book of Mormon to begin highlighting, so we invited her to begin that night! She is awesome!

I am excited to report that only through the grace of God I am up to Mosiah chapter 4 as of this morning :)

One more highlight of our week occured at the home of a woman named Michelle. She has previously been taught by Elders, but wanted women to teach her. When we came she mentioned she wants to feel greater peace in the world, we promised her the peace she is searching for can be found as she reads in the Book of Mormon. We began to share our message with her and she abruptly stood up and walked to her front step just outside of her home. She was then standing directly across from where we were sitting. She reached her hand in her pocket and pulled out a cigarrette, flicked her thumb across her lighter, and took a deep inhale. I felt sad. I thought about how uncomfortable unrighteous motives feel in the presence of holier subjects. She has her agency, but I wondered how God could change the atmosphere & rid her of her desire to smoke. I thought about how the understanding of our identity can change a person. Individuals who understand their infinite value and worth, as children of God, seem to aspire to a more righteous & clean life. We stood up and asked if we could sing to her! She agreed and lowered her hand to listen and as we sang not once did she raise it back up to her mouth. The Spirit was so strong! We sang I Am a Child of God to her. When we finished, she touched the lit end of the cigarette to her railing and tossed the remains over the edge. What a blessing!

I love God! I am grateful to be a messenger of His holy work. I know He loves y'all, it is no wonder He blesses me with such incredible miracles to share. :)
Thanks for supporting & loving me!

Mosiah 3:17
"17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent"

Have a happy week y'all! 
Sister Morrill

Ps. Please enjoy this picture of Sister Stacey & I during our hurricane lockdown until 4pm on Thursday :D

Curiosity Lead The Cat ;)

Hey y'all!

I hope each of you feasted on the words of modern day Prophets & Apostles at General Conference!! I certainly did and I am stoked about the changes unfolding in The Church. I believe centering gospel teaching in homes is critical for individual growth and strengthening families :)

On Wednesday morning we went to a card making activity with the Relief Society. We were expecting to meet a woman we are teaching there, but to our surprise she was already inside with everyone else. She was so interactive, we didn't have a chance to talk with her haha! On our way out, I felt prompted to share an experience we had the previous night. Which I want to share with y'all too, because the humility of a 10 year old girl inspired me to become more meek.

On Tuesday night last week, we went over to Cori's with intentions to teach her about prophets. As we went in we noticed a new face. Cori's neighbor friend Juliet was over and decided to stay because she wanted to learn with us. We invited the Spirit with a prayer and encouraged them to be open about any questions they have. We asked them if there was a prophet on the earth today, would they want to know? Juliet immediately responded, "I believe there is a prophet". Her knowledge of the role of a prophet impressed me, so we asked her what she would want to ask the prophet if she met him. She said, "I would ask him how I could know when God is talking to me". Seriously y'all, I looked at this sweet girl and felt God's love for her consume me. We invited her to listen to the current prophet this weekend with that question in mind. She also asked if it was bad to pray for "bad" people. I was processing her question when she began sharing the concern she has for her uncle. She said he has been to jail but she still has hope for him. It reminded me of Enos, a wicked son of a righteous man. His father taught him the right way growing up, but Enos rebelled. Eventually Enos's heart softened, and because of his father's dilligent teaching (and I imagine consistent plead with God) he became a righteous man :) She also asked if it was heavenly Father or Jesus Christ who died on the cross. Her questions were so simple. I shared with Cori's mom how often I supress simple questions because I feel I should know the answer. She laughed and agreeingly nodded. No wonder God commands us to be like children.

So we shared this experience with the women at the card activity and invited each of them to come to conference with a specific question. Afterward I realized why God wanted me to share that. The woman we teach does not ask us questions and she prefers us not to ask her questions either. Her responses differ from "yes, no, I dont know, mmm maybe" haha. We have been trying to figure out how she learns for quite some time. The following day, we had an appointment with her at 3:30 and she welcomed us in. The first question she asked was if we believe in Christening children. My heart was so happy because she felt comfortable enough to ask a question! We turned to the Book of Mormon to answer her question and read Moroni 8 with her. Last week, she told us she fell asleep during General Conference in April because it bored her, but we encouraged her to come again anyway. She politely declined, but on Saturday afternoon she texted us and asked us what the difference between the morning and evening session is! She even watched it from home!!! 

Much like Juliet, I too have hope for everyone. I know it was the love and hope others expressed for me that helped me recognize the love our heavenly Father has for each of us.

Jacob 2:8
"And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul."


I love y'all! I hope you recieved further instruction on how you can improve & feel Gods love throughout your week as you apply it :)

Sister Morrill

Walk In Faith, Not Of Shame

Hey y'all!

I hope you had a lovely week :)

We certainly did & ended it with the wonderful surprise that I am staying in Beaufort! I feel like there is still work for me to do here, so I wasn't caught of guard when I found out. Fortunately, I have at least 6 more blessed weeks serving with Sister Stacey in South Carolina!

This week we met a returning member for the first time. She is wonderful! When we arrived she immediately came outside to greet us with a huge smile! Haha she is so cute, she is from the Philippines and she always says, "yaaas seester" haha I love it! After we went in and sat down, she began to express her gratitude for the gospel and the blessings she has received from living it. Earlier that morning, I studied about Christ's Atonement, and God's justice and mercy. I thought about how He blesses each of us on condition of our obedience to His laws. She recognized that the gospel has made all the difference after she was baptized at the age of 27. She shared a story, about a boy she nannys, which really touched me. I will share what I remember from her story with y'all :)

Recently she received a 3 page letter from her sister that was full of lies and accusations. She couldnt understand why she wrote such things, but as she responded she noticed she was full of anger. After writing quite a bit, she put it away and decided she would finish later. (I find when I compulsively respond to conflict, I leave no time to understand from heavenly Fathers perspective. I imagine she considered what the outcome of her action would be and subconsciously made that decision.) One day while she was nannying, the boy waved around an inflated balloon with an eraser bouncing around inside of it. He approached her with it and asked her to watch. He then popped the balloon revealing the eraser and handed it to her. He proceeded to explain the eraser can fix any mistakes she has made! She did not want to take it from him, but he begged her to keep it. Still feeling wrong about taking it, she placed it on his desk before leaving. Later on she noticed something in her purse and realized he had snuck it in. She decided to keep it, she really loves that boy, and she knows he loves her.

As she shared her story, I imagined the balloon as each of us when we make mistakes. If we keep inside the shame we feel, eventually the effect will cause us to burst. The eraser reminded me of Christ's Atoning sacrifice. Each of us is entitled to the healing power of it and it is only our humility that will allow us to access its cleansing effect. The best part of her story was how badly he wanted her to have it, for no other reason than that he wanted to help her because he loves her! I think of the picture of Jesus Christ patiently waiting outside the door for us to let him in. If you have any doubt, I encourage you to read the scriptures. How many times is it recorded that the very hour a person turns to Christ, they are healed? No person can stray so far, that they may not be changed.

We discussed agency and the Sacrament and invited her to come to church! She invited us back to feed us real Phillipino food, so we went over last night and y'all she definitely knows how to cook! Last night I experienced a fraction of what it must feel like to serve in another country. She made so much food and kept urging us to "eat seester! Eat more seester! Seester eat!" Haha. 

On Sunday I looked around for a recruit I invited to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon. When I saw him I noticed he was holding the Book in his lap between his hands and I felt so happy. It was so cute! I walked over to him and found out he actually read 2 chapters beyond what I invited him to! Recruits have about 5 minutes of devotional time a day, needless to say I was impressed. Later we taught him the Restoration and I felt the Spirit so strong. There is a love I feel when teaching a person's soul that I hope will stay with me beyond my mission.

We are teaching a 10 year old girl and she is seriously so intelligent. She always has so many questions and we are excited because she accepted November 3rd to be baptized :)

Matthew 8:13

"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

I love y'all! I pray God is keeping you safe, I know He is mindful of you.

Love, 

Sister Morrill